Adrian is Auckland bureau chief for Aviation Week, based in New Zealand. He covers commercial aviation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Adrian was previously based in Aviation Week’s Washington office for nine years, writing for a range of the group’s publications and covering many aspects of the commercial aviation industry. He has won Australasian and international awards for his aviation writing.
Prior to joining Aviation Week in 2002, Adrian covered aviation industry and policy issues for two other publishing companies in Washington. He has also worked for newspapers in Texas and New Zealand, covering a wide range of topics. Adrian graduated from Auckland University with a degree in history and English in 1992.
While the third quarter saw higher costs for U.S. airlines, improving efficiency and revenue more than offset this trend and resulted in a significant drop in breakeven load factor, according to new data from the Air Transport Association. ATA’s composite airline cost index rose 5% year-on-year in 2010’s third quarter, outstripping the 1.2% gain in the consumer price index. Fuel and labor cost increases both contributed to the rise.
The FAA has proposed a $330,000 civil penalty against Salt Lake City helicopter tour operator Heli-Dudes, due to violations of federal regulations. The agency alleges Heli-Dudes did not have an FAA operating certificate or letter of authorization when it conducted 30 sightseeing flights for hire between Feb. 6 and Feb. 14, 2010, using a Robinson R-22 helicopter. According to the FAA, it denied two applications by Heli-Dudes for a letter of authorization. The first denial was because the wrong employee drug-testing certificate was submitted.
The Virgin Blue Group has named Sankar Narayan its new CFO, and he will join the company in April. Narayan previously was CFO at major Australian and international companies, such as Astro All Asia Networks, Fairfax Media and Foxtel. Current CFO Keith Neate announced his resignation in December, but will stay on through March 31.
